Nigeria Beats Japan in Their First Game

Nigeria’s men’s soccer team made an extraordinary start to its Olympic campaign, beating Japan 5-4 in Manaus on Thursday just hours after landing in Brazil following a nerve-wracking travel mix-up.

The team was stranded in Atlanta for days amid a bizarre saga that saw flights cancelled because because a plane was too small, before eventually taking off on the morning of the game.

The Nigerian squad eventually landed in Manaus at 2:19 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, with the game against Japan beginning at 9 p.m.

The contest was evenly matched in the opening stages, with honors remaining even following a frantic opening burst that produced four goals in 10 minutes.